The bout served as the main event of Friday’s Resurrection Fighting Alliance 4 event, which took place at Las Vegas’ Texas Station Gambling Hall & Hotel. The night’s main card aired on AXS TV.

Griffin had to survive a few tight armbar attempts from his opponent, but his powerful strikes and wrestling control eventually earned him the win.

The action started quickly, and Griffin pushed in and settled into top position after shucking off a quick triangle-choke attempt. Griffin postured up to land big blows and had to fight through rapid-fire upkicks. Escudero then rolled out for a belly-down armbar that seemed certain to end the fight, but Griffin kept his arm free and moved back to the feet. Griffin landed a few solid shots in the standup game, but Escudero looked comfortable and transitioned to an earnest guillotine attempt in the final seconds.

Griffin continued to throw bombs on the feet in the second frame. Escudero returned fire, but it was Griffin who was launching haymakers. Escudero looked for a takedown two minutes into the round, but Griffin defended it and scored a trip of his own before grinding away from his opponent’s guard. Escudero again looked for an armbar, but Griffin avoided the trouble and kept his dominant position.

Both fighters continued to press in the third frame. Griffin continued to look for big overhand rights, and he was just a little quicker to the punch. Another takedown saw Griffin in top position, and Escudero again threatened with a slick transition to armbar. However, Griffin again escaped and eventually transitioned to the back. Escudero turned in and tried for a guillotine choke, but Griffin pulled free. They broke apart in the final minute, and an off-balance Griffin hit the floor. Escudero took a solid position and landed several punches and elbows to the body, but it was too little, too late.

Griffin improves to 2-1 in his past three fights. Escudero has dropped three consecutive fights.

Dace tossed aside on an early takedown. Njokuani hit in the groin. The pair moved into the clinch on the restart and jockeyed for position against the cage. Dace drove a knee into his opponent’s cup, and referee Kim Winslow deducted a point for the infraction. On the restart, Njokuani came alive with a high kick that scored to the temple and a few straight punches that snuck past his opponent’s defense. The action was slowed by a Njokuani front kick that landed low, but the stoppage was brief.

Njokuani capitalized on snapping kicks to the legs and body in the second frame as he seized control of the fight. Njokuani set up a few powerful punches that just missed, and he showed incredible head movement and quickness as he avoided his opponent’s counters. Njokuani absorbed another shot to the groin in the round, but he answered by knocking his opponent to the floor several times with powerful sweeps.

In the third, Njokuani put an exclamation mark o his win with a devastating right hand that sent Dace to the floor. Njokuani pounced with several right hands that probably could have been stopped a punch or two earlier, but Winslow finally stepped in at the 41-second mark of the third frame.

Njokuani improves to 7-1 in his past eight fights. Dace sees a five-fight win streak snapped in the first stoppage loss of his career.

Cruz taps Yager, Palmer decisions Paixao

While it wasn’t necessarily heavy on action, submission specialist Marcio “Pe de Pano” Cruz (8-3) did earn an impressive light-heavyweight submission win over replacement opponent Joe Yager, who filled in for an injured Gilbert Yvel.

The two exchanged punches in the early going before Yager pushed the action into the clinch and drove his opponent into the cage. With the position a relative stalemate, referee Steve Mazzagatti reset the pair, but they quickly worked into a similar position. Cruz eventually got to work from the floor in the final seconds of the frame, but it wasn’t enough time to capitalize.

The second round started out in similar fashion, and a few boos came in from the crowd as the contest remained light on action. But when Yager looked to drive in for a takedown, Cruz shocked him with a sprawl and dropped into an inverted triangle choke attempt on the back. Yager initially defended the hold, but Cruz flipped over and tightened the choke, earning the finish in the final minute of the second frame.

With the result, Cruz bounces back from a June 2011 loss to Glover Teixeira and is now 6-1 in his past seven fights. Yager loses for the first time as a professional.

In a featherweight matchup, undefeated Team Alpha Male fighter Lance Palmer (5-0) kept his perfect record unblemished with a split-decision win over UFC and WEC veteran Fredson Paixao (10-5).

The pair started patiently on the feet and exchanged kicks from distance to open. Palmer got the best of the striking, and though Paixao was able to work the action to the ground on brief occasions, he couldn’t really launch into his vaunted grappling attack.

In the second, Paixao did threaten with an early choke, but Palmer patiently worked his way free from the hold and returned to the feet. Palmer then scored his own takedown, but referee Chris Tognoni didn’t see enough action for his liking and brought the fight back up. Paixao briefly threatened the leg on a scramble, but Palmer remained free from any real troubles.

Palmer enjoyed top position again for much of the final frame. Paixao was able to bloody his opponent’s nose with a few well-placed strikes, he wasn’t able to really threaten much in terms of finishing possibilities. With his corner imploring him to push forward in the final minute, Paixao simply couldn’t find anything special in the tank and watched a decision slip away.
Krause, Cochrane score first-round stoppages, Pettis outlasts Jones

The two engaged quickly, and both looked willing to trade. While the Brazilian has landed several flashy stoppages in the past, it was Krause landed a big left hand, and Trindade crumpled to the floor. Krause pounced with several more big punches before referee Herb Dean could step in just 31 seconds into the fight.

Krause now boasts a five-fight win streak while Trindade loses for the first time as a professional.

In a lightweight matchup, four-time RFA veteran Dakota Cochrane (13-3) survived a near finish in the early going to battle back for a submission win of his own against Team Alpha Males’s Derrick Burnsed (10-3).

Both fighters were aggressive to open, including a series of leaping techniques and big punches that narrowly missed. Burnsed then moved inside and grabbed a guillotine and fell to guard. The choke looked tight, and there were several tense moments, but Cochrane eventually poked his head free and looked to land shots while avoiding armbar attempts from underneath.

Cochrane eventually scrambled to the back of his opponent, and while he was too high to finish the choke, he slid off the back and smoothly transitioned into a fight-ending armbar.

In the evening’s first main-card contest, 19-year-old bantamweight Sergio Pettis (6-0), best known as the younger brother of former WEC champ Anthony Pettis, earned an entertaining decision win over a game Jimmy Jones (4-2).

The taller Jones landed a crisp right in the early going but kept his range and looked to work from the outside. Pettis’ left eye was reddened from the work, but he remained in the pocket and looked more comfortable as the round wore on. Pettis finished the frame with a spectacular jumping spin kick, but Jones was the more efficient fighter throughout the frame.

Pettis picked up the pace in the second frame and successfully worked past Jones’ reach. Jones returned fire in spurts, but it was Pettis who took complete control of the momentum and bloodied his opponent’s nose.

With the fight hanging in the balance in the third frame, Pettis was again methodical in an impressive striking attack. An inadvertent kick to Jones’ groin slowed things down briefly. Pettis effectively controlled the cage and rifled off punches and kicks that left Jones bloodied and retreating. A late high-kick knockdown punctuated Pettis performance and sealed him the win in an entertaining scrap.

Holdsworth, Mocco pick up submission wins on preliminary card

In the evening’s final preliminary bout, Chris Holdsworth (4-0) weathered some early trouble to earn a submission win over a previously unbeaten Tyler Shinn (3-1).

Shinn was able to close the distance early and take the fight to the floor, but Holdsworth popped immediately back to his feet. That turned out to be to Shinn’s, as he repeatedly found a home for his right hand. Still, Holdsworth did battle back in the closing moments and established back control but was unable to find a choke before the bell sounded.

Holdsworth looked to use his length in the second frame as he kicked low from distance. Shinn capitalized with a takedown, but it turned out to be his undoing as Holdsworth locked in a triangle choke and earned a submission win.

And in heavyweight preliminary action, former Olympic wrestler Steve Mocco (1-0) picked up his first professional MMA win with a second-round submission of Tyler Perry (1-1).

Mocco traded on the feet in the early going before eventually utilizing his wrestling pedigree to control his opponent on the floor. He nearly finished the fight in the first round with a barrage of ground-and-pound blows but had to wait until the second to clinch the victory. Mocco again took the fight to the floor and used punches to set up a kimura, which he cranked until referee Herb Dean stepped in to halt the action.

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